The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) review of the application included an environmental review published in December 2016 as a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that looked at site-specific impacts and referenced the agency’s Generic EIS for in situ recovery facilities.

The NRC also published a Safety Evaluation Report, which concluded the proposed facility can, in a safe manner, operate, manage radiological and chemical hazards, protect groundwater, and eventually cleanup and decommission.

The Reno Creek project comprises NI 43-101 compliant resources of 10.96 million pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.066% U3O8 measured and indicated and 4.73 million pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.063% U3O8 inferred. It also contains 8.41 million pounds of U3O8 in historical resources grading about 0.083% U3O8.

ISL mines pass a leaching solution — such as oxygen with sodium carbonate — through buried sand containing uranium, dissolving it on the way. The solution then pumps to the surface. The uranium ends up removed from the solution using an ion-exchange process. Usually the ion-exchange resin or solvent would undergo stripping and precipitation on-site to remove uranium.

The project will have five wellfields and a central processing plant producing about 750 tU annually. It is 30km southeast of Uranium One’s Willow Creek and 50km north of Cameco’s Smith Ranch uranium projects.